Sunday, April 19, 2009

If the counter on the home page is correct, this is the 100th post of R.O.U.S.-es! I came up with my own quick-n-easy recipe, using mainly left overs, and thought I would share in case any of you are as time-crunched as I am and need something fairly quick and nutritious to feed the fam. Usually when I make pasta of any sort, I wind up making way to much noodles for the amount of sauce I have made. Over the years, I've discovered this is actually a good thing, as it can be a way to stretch one cooking session into several meals, without eating the same stuff over and over and getting tired of it. I learned to store leftover sauce and the noodles separately so I can use them for other items. The noodles in question are the tri-flavored spirals (plain, spinach and tomato) we seem to prefer around here for our pasta. Seems like the sauce "sticks" to the crevices in these noodles better than it would to plain-old spaghetti. However, any noodle will do. The below recipe uses leftovers and/or common staples I keep in my pantry.

Alfredo a la Leftovers

Leftover spiral pasta (or whatever kind of pasta you prefer)

Can or jar of favored alfredo sauce of whatever type you prefer

leftover chicken or can of chicken breast or chicken from the freezer

can of mushrooms or fresh if you have them on hand

seasoning to taste (I like to add more Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste)

There are two ways you can make this a) Dump some pasta in a microwave safe bowl with the other ingredients, mix well, then microwave until it's hot; or b) For a better blended taste, mix ingredients in an oven safe casserole dish, sprinkle parmesan cheese and more Italian seasoning over the top and bake at 350 degrees until it's warm and the edges are lightly browned.

Serve this dish with a dinner salad, and you have a pretty well balanced and tasty quick meal!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Okay, people. I need your help. More specifically, I need ideas and suggestions as to quick, easy, tasty, NUT FREE meals for me and my kid. I'm burned out on eating restaurant/fast food. Then we did the chef salad thing for a while. Everything in my own library of recipes that is fast and simple has been done over and over again. I need your recipes! If you're a member of this blog, please post your favorite quick and easies as a new post. If you aren't, please add it in a comment. I'm too busy to cook and oh so tired of what I've been doing for dinner up to now. Your help is much appreciated!